The beautiful Jacques

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Episode of the series The Simpsons
title The beautiful Jacques
Original title Life on the Fast Lane
Country of production United States
original language English
length approx. 22 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
classification Season 1, Episode 9 ( List )
First broadcast March 18, 1990 on FOX
German-language
first broadcast		 October 18, 1991 on ZDF
Rod
Director David Silverman
script John Swartzwelder
music Richard Gibbs
Guest appearance (s)
synchronization

 ►  Main article: Dubbing The Simpsons

chronology

←  Predecessor
Bart beheads head

Successor  →
Homer as a womanizer

The beautiful Jacques ( English original title: Life on the Fast Lane ; alternative title: Jacques to Be Wild ) is the ninth episode of the first season of the series The Simpsons . It won the Primetime Emmy Award in 1990 for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour) .

action

In this episode it is Marge Simpson's birthday and is surprised with breakfast by her children Lisa and Bart. With a start, Homer realizes that he forgot the birthday and didn't get a present. In a hurry for a present, he buys her a bowling ball  - with the name HOMER engraved on it . Marge is not very enthusiastic about the gift, but to wipe Homer one thing, she accepts the ball and decides to learn how to bowl. During her training, however, she met the beautiful Jacques. Jacques, who feels drawn to her, gradually becomes her private bowling teacher and Marge realizes that Jacques is a sensitive and charming man, exactly the opposite of Homer. Marge is unsure of her feelings: She loves Homer, but sees in Jacques the romantic man she has always imagined. After a workout, Jacques takes her out for brunch, and although she feels guilty, she agrees.

In the meantime, Homer and the children notice that the marriage could break up.

During brunch, Jacques and Marge meet Helen Lovejoy , known as "the pastor's gossipy wife," and she asks why Marge is having lunch with a man who is not her husband. Jacques assures her it's a bowling lesson. When Helen walks on again, Jacques invites Marge to his apartment. Marge agrees, but faces a moral dilemma. The next day, Marge drives to Jacques apartment. On the way there she stops at a crossroads, one path leads to Jacques apartment, while the other leads to the nuclear power station where Homer works. After some back and forth, however, she decides to drive to the nuclear power plant. There she surprises Homer; they embrace and kiss.

Cultural references

The original title "Life on the Fast Lane" is a reference to the song of the same name by the US country rock band The Eagles , while the alternative title "Jacques to Be Wild" (which in turn was planned as "Bjorn to Be Wild") ) is a reference to the song Born to Be Wild by the rock band Steppenwolf . The dance scene between Marge and Jacques - in Marge's dream sequence - was taken directly from the film musical The Gay Divorcee . The last scene in which Marge goes into the nuclear power plant and is carried out of the power plant by Homer, to the applause of his colleagues, refers to the final scene of the US film drama An Officer and a Gentleman ; at the same time the film song Up Where We Belong can be heard.

production

The episode The Beautiful Jacques was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by David Silverman . This episode was originally too long to use the normal opening sequence (see The Simpsons # opening sequence ). It was therefore produced without a couch gag and table gag; instead, just a picture of the Simpsons house was cut into it. In addition, the episode should actually be called "Bjorn to Be Wild" because Marge was supposed to meet a tennis instructor from Sweden named Bjorn. But Albert Brooks , the voice of Jacques in the original version, thought it was funnier that his character was French. For this reason, the alternative title of this episode is "Jacques to Be Wild". Brooks improvised almost all of his dialogue and produced up to three hours of material. Marge's laugh during her bowling lesson was a natural laugh from Julie Kavner as she was laughing at Brook's dialogues.

The exterior of the Barney's Bowlarama bowling center was designed by Eric Stefani , a member of the No Doubt musical group . The original backstory for Barney's Bowlarama was that the bowling center was owned by Barney Gumble , which was never mentioned in the series. The writers changed this over time, so that Barney only worked there as an employee because they couldn't imagine Barney owning anything, let alone running a company. Later, in the episode And Maggie Makes Three (Season 6, Episode 13), it was revealed that Barney's uncle Al Gumble is the owner of the bowling center. The Shorty’s restaurant , where Jacques and Marge eat together and meet Helen Lovejoy, should be an allusion to a little cook who works behind the counter and wears a chef's hat. This idea was rejected again because it seemed too clumsy for them.

The episode also marks the first appearances of Lenny Leonard, Jacques and Helen Lovejoy.

reception

The first broadcast of this episode ended the Nielsen Ratings of the week from March 12 to 19, 1990 with a rating of 17.5 in 11th place and was seen by around 16.1 million television households. This made it the highest rated show on Fox that week. The episode received the Primetime Emmy Award in 1990 for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour) .

The episode received mostly positive reviews. In a DVD review of the first season, David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 4 out of 5 points and declared it - alongside Homer as a womanizer  - to be one of his favorite episodes of the first season. Colin Jacobson wrote that it was "another good episode, not a great one," and positively singled out Albert Brook's work. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide , Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote, “A very good, very safe episode with some viewers (especially female) tearing their hairs at the end to have."

In a 2000 article in Entertainment Weekly , Matt Groening named this episode as his second favorite episode of all time. In 2003, Entertainment Weekly named the episode 21st on a list of the 25 best The Simpsons episodes.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Jeff lenburg: Who's Who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television's Award Winning and Legendary Animators . Hal Leonard, 2006, ISBN 1-55783-671-X .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Matt Groening , Al Jean , David Silverman , James L. Brooks . (2001). DVD commentary for the episode “The beautiful Jacques”. In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season One [DVD]. 20th Century Fox .
  3. ↑ a b c Jacques To Be Wild. BBC, archived from the original on May 11, 2014 ; accessed on April 20, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Richmond, Ray: Big 3 networks aren't laughing at 'The Simpsons' , The Orange County Register. March 21, 1990, p. L12. 
  5. ↑ David B. Grelck: The Complete First Season. In: WDBGProductions. September 25, 2001, archived from the original on February 2, 2009 ; accessed on April 21, 2018 (English).
  6. ^ Colin Jacobson: The Simpsons: The Complete First Season (1990). DVD Movie Guide, accessed April 21, 2018 .
  7. ^ Dan Snierson: Springfield of Dreams. In: EW.com. January 14, 2000, accessed April 21, 2018 .
  8. ↑ The best Simpsons episodes, Nos. 21-25. In: ew.com. February 2, 2003, accessed April 21, 2018 .

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